From Sea to Shining Sea
by ApocalypseIsNow
Summary: Nowhere is safe for Cameron and Ellie as they venture through the Pacific Northwest. Could this be where it all ends? This story is a sequel to my story The Two of Us.
1. Chapter 1

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.1 - An Adventure Begins

**A/N This story is a sequel to my story, The Two of Us so if you haven't read that, you should, otherwise it will be hard to follow. Without further adieu, here is the story, enjoy**!

~~~~**Spring**~~~~

~~~Me~~~

I woke up feeling the absence of Ellie's warm body next to me. I threw the sheets off, stood and pulled on a pair of pants while rubbing the sleep from eyes. I fumbled with my belt buckle as I stepped out our bedroom door, I couldn't find my shirt from last night, so I didn't bother putting one on.

"Ellie?" I called from the top of the stairs.

"I'm down here!" She yelled back. Even though we were safe here in Jackson, I still had flashbacks to last winter whenever I didn't know where she was. I walked down the stairs and saw Ellie sitting at our small dining table, wearing my shirt.

"Oh, giving me my present early are you?" Ellie joked. I rolled my eyes at her remark.

"Happy birthday." I said as I walked past her and grabbed a ripe apple from the kitchen. I bit into the crunchy fruit, the tartness still surprising me even after eating them so often.

"What did you want to do today?" I asked, sitting down across from her.

"Oh I dunno, a little of this, a little of that." Ellie replied, taking a bite of her eggs she had obviously made earlier. Ellie's feet touched mine under the table, the coldness of them causing my own feet to jump backwards under my chair.

"Careful, you might end up with more than you can handle." I said.

"Yeah right." Ellie guffawed, finding what I said funny.

"Well if you don't want..." I started.

"No! I'm sorry, it was a joke." Ellie interrupted. I smiled at her reaction, leaning back in my chair as we finished our breakfasts.

"You didn't answer my question. What do you want to do?" I asked her.

"Well I've always wanted to go see this one thing, but it isn't exactly close." Ellie replied.

"Just tell me."

"I-I want to see the ocean." Ellie told me. I set down my apple core and put my arms on the table.

"You're right, it isn't close. You've never seen the ocean?" I asked. Ellie shook her head.

"All those years in Boston and you never saw the ocean?"

"We weren't close enough to the water to see it." Ellie responded. I took a deep breath.

"I'll talk to Tommy about it, he will have to give us permission to go." I told her. Ellie looked at me, a huge smile on her face.

"You mean you'd actually take me to see the ocean?" Ellie asked.

"I'd do anything for you." I responded, causing her to blush. "We should probably go get dressed if we are going to talk to Tommy." I said. Ellie looked at the shirt she was wearing.

"Might be a good idea since this is all I have on." Ellie said giggling.

"Is that so?" I asked, standing up from the table. Ellie giggled as she ran to the kitchen and put her plate in the sink. My shirt barely covered her, and she wasn't lying, she didn't even have any underwear on. I threw my apple core away and followed Ellie up the stairs.

"I don't know guys, Maria would kill me if anything happened to you." Tommy said, itching his short beard.

"C'mon Uncle Tommy, we never ask for anything." Ellie pleaded.

"You mean besides a house?"

"Tommy. Please?" Ellie begged him.

"Fine, but you'll have to talk to Maria in the stable before you leave." Tommy said reluctantly. Ellie squealed like little girl and jumped up and down.

"Go start packing, I need to talk to Tommy." I told her. I kissed Ellie and sent her out of Tommy's house.

"Thank you Tommy." I said.

"You need to keep yourselves safe, I'm serious. No doing anything reckless or stupid because I can't lose you guys too." Tommy said seriously.

"Tommy, I've got this. I worked with Joel, remember?" I reassured him. Tommy sighed.

"Look where that got him." Tommy said sadly.

"I promise we will come back." I promised Tommy.

"I know, now go, you need to get ready." Tommy shooed me out of his house.

When I got home, Ellie had her backpack packed up.

"Yours is in the closet." Ellie informed me. I walked up the stairs and down the main hallway. I opened the closet door, staring at my bag lying on the floor. I picked it up, the last time I had it on was the last time I saw Joel. I went back downstairs and opened the weapons chest in the entryway, pulling out my 9mm and Joel's old six shooter. I checked both clips to make sure they had ammo, before checking that the safety was on. I grabbed Ellie's bow and her pistol, along with slinging my rifle over my shoulder. I handed Ellie her weapons, while I headed to where Ellie had laid out my essentials and I carefully put them in my bag.

"You ready?" I asked, pulling on my backpack, sticking my handgun in the waistband of my pants and Joel's revolver in my handmade holster.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She responded. I opened our front door for her, and quietly followed her out the door.

"Um, before we leave, can we go see Joel?" Ellie asked.

"I was planning on seeing him anyway." I told her. We walked around our house heading towards Joel's grave behind our house. We approached the memorial and I noticed that Joel's bag still hung from the tree above his resting place.

"I wish he could go with us." Ellie said sadly as we reached the headstone. I stared at the smooth stone that had been engraved with the words, _Here lies Joel, a beloved brother, friend, and father. May he rest in peace._

"I do too, but we can't change the past." I said turning towards her. Ellie had tears in her eyes and was studying the grave.

"I know, it's just, I feel he didn't know how much he meant to us." Ellie confessed.

"Ellie, we meant the world to him, and he was everything to us, and he knew that, even if he never said it." I reassured her.

"You're right." Ellie agreed, turning away from the grave. "Let's go. We've got our own journey now."

"All right you two, if I were you, I'd go up northwest to Washington, there'll be the least amount of bandits there." Tommy recommended.

"Sounds good." I replied, getting up onto the horse.

"Promise me you'll come back." Maria said.

"I promise." I said, placing my hand over my heart and then helping Ellie up onto our horse.

"You be safe now." Tommy said as the horse trotted out of the stable.

"Adios Tommy, we'll be back by this time next year at the latest." I told him, he gave a slight nod and guided us out through the main gate. I turned to look back at Jackson and saw Tommy and Maria standing in the road waving.

"It's been a while since we've been out by ourselves." Ellie pointed out.

"It sure has, it's been too long. I like it better when it's just the two of us." I confessed.

"Me too." Ellie responded, resting her chin on my shoulder as Jackson faded from our sight.

**A/N I am so very excited for this story. I've got a lot of what I think are amazing ideas. I hope that everyone who read my first story is here reading this. Anyway, thanks for reading, tell me what you think, or what you'd hope to see in a review, and as always, I'll see you in chapter 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.2 - Boise

~~~~_**Summer**_~~~~

~~~Me~~~

I shifted painfully on the saddle of the horse, my back and necked ached from sitting up so straight as often Ellie was resting her head on my shoulder. It has been two months since we had left Jackson, and most of the journey was through scorched plains, the unforgiving sun sapping my will and energy, while at night the bone chilling wind forced us to curl up together as close to the fire as we could without catching on fire.

It was great.

"Ellie, look." I said, nudging her sleeping body with my shoulder and pointing to the horizon. In the distance, a city loomed before us, a dark reminder of our previous travel through Denver.

"What city is that?" Ellie asked me.

"Boise." I replied.

"Do you think there will be hunters?" She asked nervously.

"You never know, let's hope not." I said. I wasn't sure how anyone could stand to live here, it was flat, brown, and extremely hot. We rode on for a couple more hours, but Boise seemed to be the same distance away as when I had first spotted it.

"Fuck it. I can't go any further." I told Ellie, my discomfort driving me from the horse. I hopped off the horse, the dry grass scratching my legs. I stretched upwards, trying to relieve my sore muscles as best I could. I then helped Ellie off our horse.

"Why does it have to be so hot?" Ellie complained. I shrugged.

"At least we've got water." I said. The Snake river was on our left and we had been following it northwest ever since we had left Wyoming.

"Care for a swim?" Ellie asked me, stripping off her shirt and shorts, leaving her in her underwear.

"Well I'll swim since you still can't." I teased her.

"Hey! I'm learning!" Ellie said, hitting me playfully as she stepped into the water.

"Whoa! Geez that's cold!" Ellie shrieked as she submerged herself in the shallow, slow moving water. I stripped off my shirt, leaving my shorts on and unlaced my shoes before stepping into the icy water. I shivered as I sat near the bank, the water rising to my chest, watching Ellie as she attempted some of the strokes I had taught her earlier on our trip. The freezing water helped ease my aches, allowing me to relax in the shallow water and cool off. I closed my eyes, the only sounds were Ellie's splashing and a faint clicking.

My eyes shot open. "Ellie, quiet for a second." I ordered. She immediately stood and froze in place as the clicking slowly got louder and was now accompanied by some pained moaning.

"Clickers?" Ellie asked in a hush tone. I nodded as I slowly walked up the riverbed. Our horse was neighing nervously as I reached for my bag and grabbed Joel's revolver, pulling the hammer back with a sharp _**CLICK**_. I heard the dry grass crunch under feet as the shaking clicker came into view, emerging from behind a small pocket of trees. The clicker threw its body around erratically, trying to sense is among the nothingness separating us. I lifted the gun, aiming carefully before firing a single shot and watching the clickers head snap backwards as it dropped to the ground. Only then did I realize my mistake, as several runners came sprinting from the trees nearby. I fired at the rushing creatures, killing two while crippling a third and missing my other two shots. I threw the gun to the ground and drew my knife from my bag as the last three runners approached. I stopped the first one by blocking it across the chest with my arm and thrusting my knife into its eye. I grabbed the next one, twisting it around and kicking out its knee before severing its spinal cord. I turned as Ellie took on the last one, struggling against its ferocity, holding it back with both hands as they fell to the ground.

"Cameron!" Ellie called out as she fell. I ran to Ellie and kicked the runner's head, which was not a very good idea as I was barefoot. I sent it sprawling next to Ellie, cutting out its throat before it could stand.

"You okay?" I asked Ellie, helping her up.

"Peachy." She replied, brushing grass off of herself.

"I should probably think before I shoot next time." I said with a chuckle.

"You should probably just start thinking." Ellie giggled.

"Really Ellie?"

"Sorry." She apologized. By now the sun had started to set and the chilly wind had kicked up. I shivered, pulling my shirt back on as I untied our single sleeping bag from our tired horse.

"I'm going to get some firewood." I told Ellie, motioning to the small group of trees where the group of infected had hid. Most of the trees were thin and dead and I was able to snap off some good sized branches for the much needed fire. I returned back to where Ellie had dug a small hole for the fire, the temperature dropping fast as I struggled to light the fire.

"Why does it have to be so cold?" Ellie complained.

"Weren't you just complaining about being hot a little while ago?"

"Shut up."

I crawled into the sleeping bag with Ellie, our bodies pressed together. The bag was approved for subzero temperatures, but that didn't stop me from being cold.

"We should probably get to town tomorrow since we don't have any food left." I told Ellie, pulling her body against my own.

"Mmhh? Yeahhh." Ellie purred as my cold hands brushed her tummy. I kissed her exposed neck before falling asleep.

~~~Ellie~~~

Ellie stared up into the starlit sky, the amount of stars amazed her.

_How could there be so many_? She thought to herself, watching the stars twinkle and dance against the dark canvas of the sky, reminding her of Cameron's eyes when he watched her. That thought made her smile as she rolled onto her side to stare at the boy pressed against herself. He was so different from her. Her usually pale but now burnt skin stood out against his darkened tan skin. His short, sandy blonde hair and her long, dark red hair. The thing that got Ellie though was his size. Cameron stood a full half a foot taller than her and outweighed her by at least 40 pounds and he made her feel small and weak. She didn't feel defenseless when she was by herself however, she had learned a lot when she was by herself and from Cameron, Joel, and Tommy. She knew she could take care of herself if she wanted to. But she didn't. Cameron shifted in his sleep, turning away from her, making Ellie pout. She finally let out a long sigh and allowed herself to fall asleep.

Ellie awoke to Cameron struggling to get out of the sleeping bag.

"Sorry." He mumbled, standing and stretching before Ellie. She let out a yawn and slithered out of the sleeping bag, enjoying the cool morning air. Ellie rolled up the sleeping bag before strapping it to the horse as Cameron stomped out the remains of the fire. Ellie walked to the river, splashing the icy water onto her face, sending a jolt down her spine. She washed her face and hair in the water as Cameron sat impatiently on the horse.

"Ellie?" He called out to her.

"Oh hold your _horses_." Ellie joked.

"That was really bad."

"I know."

Cameron let out a frustrated sigh as he helped Ellie onto the horse. She instinctively wrapped her arms arms his waist as he spurred the horse into a trot.

_Gurrgh_! Ellie felt her stomach more than she heard it, but it was loud enough to make Cameron look over his shoulder.

"Hungry?" He asked.

"What do you think?"

Cameron smirked back at her. "I know something you can eat"

"Don't. Do not go there." Ellie warned

"You didn't even know what I was going to say!" He complained.

"Really? You boys are all the same."

Cameron say up straight and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but I'm not a boy."

"Well what are you then." Ellie asked. "Not a man." She added before he could answer.

"Uhh, something in between I guess. I think adolescent is the word?" He responded. Ellie just rolled her eyes.

They rode for several hours, the heat increasing with each passing hour. Boise was now just a few miles out and Ellie felt a shiver go through her, even through the heat. She did not like cities.

"Cameron? Something doesn't feel right." Ellie said worriedly, wrapping her arms even tighter around him.

"I know, but we need to stop here to scavenge some food." He reminded her, her stomach growled as he spoke.

Ellie grew restless as buildings started to pop up around them and increasing in size and amount the further they went. Cameron pulled the horse up in front of a dilapidated strip mall inside the city. He lowered himself from the horse with a low grunt before helping Ellie off. Ellie's eyes darted back and forth, scanning for any hidden dangers, she hoped there'd be none. Ellie tied the horse up to lamppost and grabbed Cameron's hand as he walked towards the strip.

"We are going to be fine." He reassured her, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"I know." She answered.

They approached the first store and Cameron pushed open the door and immediately a rancid smell sent Ellie's head spinning, but the sight before her almost caused her to throw up.

"Jesus Christ!" Cameron exclaimed, looking away.


	3. Chapter 3

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.3 - Chased

~~~Me~~~

I covered my face, the sight before me making me sick. The smell didn't help either. When I opened the door to the first store, it was nearly stuffed full of burned, rotting corpses. I slammed the door shut and pulled Ellie away from the store.

"That answers our question about hunters." I mumbled to myself, earning a glare from Ellie. I stepped back from the door and turned to a gun barrel in my face.

"I guess it does, doesn't it?" The man spat.

I stood frozen on the spot, staring the man down, conscious of the fact that I couldn't see anyone else with him.

"Now how about you hand over your pretty little friend there and I'll think about letting you go." He said, smiling at Ellie.

As soon as his concentration changed to Ellie, I acted. I grabbed his arm, tearing the gun from his hand and throwing it to the ground. I twisted his arm and broke it at the elbow, making the man scream in pain as he fell to his knees. I stepped back from the man and glanced at Ellie who took her knife and slashed his throat, his cries now muffled by his own blood and he fell to the ground dead.

"We need to get out of here." I said, grabbing Ellie's arm and pulling her towards our horse who was whinnying impatiently. I untied him from the lamppost and hopped up in front of Ellie, sending the horse into a gallop. Gunshots began erupting around us as we rode through Boise as fast as we could. I heard shouting and more shots behind us as a building nearly exploded with infected, sending dozens out into the street, blocking our pursuers from our path. I turned to look forward, only to knocked off the horse and hit the ground painfully. I stood up and was immediately grabbed from behind, my assailant attempting to choke me. I stomped on their foot, loosening their grip a bit before elbowing them in the stomach and ripping their arms off of me. I spun around to face them, in front of me was teen boy, my age, he was around my size but taller, had long, slicked back blonde hair, a wicked scar across his right eye, and soulless, icy blue eyes. He wore a black sheepskin jacket and black pants along with plated combat gloves for close quarters fights.

"C'mon, show me what you got pretty boy." He taunted.

I stood my ground, keeping my distance from him, waiting to find a flaw in his stance or for him to swing first.

"I ain't got all day." He said, swinging at my face. I easily dodged it, but then his other fist struck fast and hit me in the stomach. I took the hit, staggering a bit as he kept trying to hit my face or head. I was able to deflect one of his blows, knocking him slightly off balance. I took my chance and swept his plant leg out from underneath him, sending him tumbling to the ground. I pinned his body to the ground and started to strangle him, his hands trying to push me off of him.

"Cameron stop!" I heard Ellie yell, pulling the horse beside us. I looked over at her, unsure of what to do, but then I saw the teen beneath me look surprised by Ellie's arrival. I released his throat and stood over him.

"God. I should've taken you more seriously. I thought you were a hunter." He told me.

"I thought the same." I replied, helping him up to his feet.

"The name is Rylan by the way." He introduced himself.

"I'm Cameron, this is Ellie." I said. I watched Rylan and Ellie exchange quick once overs before looking back at me.

"We need to go Ellie, now." I said, hoisting myself up onto our horse.

"In sorry Rylan, but we have to get away from these hunters." I explained.

"I've got a horse too." He shot back, his tone somewhat angry. I watched him run off down an alley and return a short while later on a horse. Rylan sped off down the road that led through Boise.

"I guess we're following him." I heard Ellie mumble to herself as we galloped after him.

By the time night had fallen, we had reached the other side of the city and set up camp inside a small grove of trees in a destroyed suburb. I watched Ellie sleep, not willing to fall asleep myself as I still didn't trust Rylan. Rylan did the same, I could feel his eyes on my as I sat propped up against a tree, his empty eyes glinted every so often which would send a shiver down my spine. The sound of wind was loud, the swish of the trees and the long grass accompanying its low whistle. The trees rustled unnaturally to my left, my head snapping to that side as I gripped my gun tightly.

"Something wrong?" Rylan asked.

"Shh. You hear that?" I responded. I watched Rylan try and strain his hearing, but could tell he couldn't hear the sound. He wasn't trained to listen by Joel.

"No I don't hear it." Rylan said, resting his head back against his tree. Now, the air was eerily still and I could hear every movement. Ellie's quiet breathing, Rylan's fingers tapping his leg, and the crunching of leaves from something walking. I looked over at Rylan who was still staring out into the trees. I slowly raises my gun and peeked around the tree, but I stared only into the inky blackness beyond the light of our fire. I could still hear something walking, and it stopped behind the tree I was leaning against. By now Rylan was staring at the space behind me, looking for the potential danger in the shadows. I heard it's quiet breathing, they were short and ragged, definitely human. Suddenly, the ground in front of me burst into flames, a Molotov shattering before me. I screamed as the fire lit my pant leg on fire, burning my skin before I could put it out. Rylan shot the person lurking behind me, I could tell from the soft _**thunk**_ of their body hitting the ground.

"Shit! You okay?" Rylan asked me.

"I'm fine."

"What happened?" Ellie asked, sitting straight up in the sleeping bag.

"We've been found, it isn't safe here." I told her, standing and gathering our stuff as quickly as I could, strapping things to the horse as Ellie handed me more stuff. Rylan did the same, hopping up onto his horse. I helped Ellie up onto ours before pulling myself up.

"We need to go northwest. We have to reach the Columbia River, it'll take us straight to the coast." I said to Rylan, who nodded in reply. I could hear shouting in the distance as more hunters approached.

"We should go, but something tells me these hunters won't just leave us alone." Rylan said. He took off into the night, and I quickly followed him into the darkness.

**A/N I have to thank Revanite201 for letting me use Rylan in my story, if you haven't already go read his LoU story. Anyway, follow, favorite and leave a review. And as always, I'll see you all in chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.4 - Roll on Columbia

~~~~**_Fall_**~~~~

~~~Me~~~

Some days we could see the hunters miles behind us and we were forced to move for days without sleep. Other times, we would go days with no trace of the hunters, getting our hopes up that maybe they got too tired to follow anymore only to see them again the next day.

We had crossed through northeastern Oregon without much trouble, just a few infected here and there, nothing we couldn't handle. Rylan had started acting strangely, he's been spending more and more time sitting by himself and stealing looks at Ellie who seemed to not notice, but I did. I kept a watchful eye on him, I still couldn't quite trust him, even with him fighting with us.

We were now in southeastern Washington, which was as boring as the rest of the trip, the only difference is that every day the temperature is dropping, but it still felt like late summer most days.

"Can you see them?" Ellie asked, kneeling beside me.

"No, but that doesn't mean they aren't there." I responded. I was crouched motionless on top of a hill, looking out across the vast plain before me.

"I know, but it is more comforting when we can't see them." She admitted.

"Really?" I asked somewhat surprised. "I think it's better when we can see them, so I know where they are at."

"Well it's a good thing I didn't ask." Ellie said.

"Hey! That's not very nice." I accused her. Ellie just rolled her eyes.

"It was a joke, calm down."

"Well we still got about an hour of light left, let's get back to the horses." I said, slowly standing. My joints popping as I stood.

"Hey!?" Ellie exclaimed, seeming hurt.

"What?"

"You forgot something!" She told me, standing up on her toes and kissing me before grabbing my hand.

"Is the ocean as beautiful as people say it is?" Ellie asked as we walked back to where Rylan and the horses were resting.

"On the right day, it is the most beautiful thing in the world. Besides you that is." I told her. (_That was really cheesy, I'm sorry_.)

"Stop it!" Ellie said, her face flushing red.

"Did you see them?" Rylan asked as we approached.

"Not today, let's put more distance between us today." I suggested, untying our horse and getting on before helping Ellie up.

"I wish they'd go away." Ellie said as we started northward.

"Don't we all?" I responded, looking over at Rylan who cast an expectant glance over his shoulder and across the plain before locking his eyes on Ellie. I watched him carefully, and hoped for his own good that he didn't do anything stupid.

"You okay?" I asked Rylan.

"What?" He responded, jumping a bit at my question. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"Then how about you stay focused. We can't afford to be daydreaming." I told him. Rylan scoffed at my remark, but looked forward once again.

We made our way up the steep slope to the crest of the dry, brown hill. At the top we could see the sparkling water of the Columbia. The view was breathtaking, literally in Ellie's case as she gasped audibly.

"It's so beautiful!"

"Wow." Was all I could say.

The river was very wide at this point, surrounded on both sides by steep banks covered with either sand or lush green grass. The water seemed calm, the surface barely rippling, but I knew that the river itself was very swift below the calm surface. The water reflected color from the banks around it, giving it a faint emerald green color when the light hit it right.

_Just like Ellie's eyes_. I thought to myself.

I felt Ellie clamber off the horse, she was transfixed by the water, her eyes had the same sparkle as the water below. I watched her run down the hill, kicking her shoes off in the process and throwing her backpack to the ground as she reached the thin, sandy beach below. I could hear her screech as she stepped into the chilly water and couldn't help but laugh as she quickly jumped out of the water.

"It's fucking freezing!" Ellie yelled up the hill. I chuckled at this, stealing a quick glance at Rylan who was staring off into the horizon, looking beyond the colors of the setting sun to something invisible to me.

I guided our horse down the hill towards the river. The air was warm and still as I reached the river bank. Leaving the horse to graze and drink, I took off my own shoes and socks while dropping my backpack on the ground, slowly making my way towards Ellie. The sky was glowing orange, the sun invisible behind the high plateau on the other side of the Columbia.

Ellie stood about calf deep in the water, watching the brilliant, dancing colors in the sky above.

"All this almost makes me forget about all the shit in the world." Ellie said as I stepped into the cold water. I stared at her as she looked up at the sky and back at the river.

"Do you think that there is anyplace where things are normal?" Ellie asked me.

"Define normal."

"Yeah, you're right. There is no normal anymore." She said looking down at her submerged feet. Something was bothering her, I could tell.

"Ellie?"

"Hm?"

"Ellie, I don't know what you're thinking right now, but I've got a feeling it has to do with what happened in Salt Lake City." I told her.

Ellie let out a deep sigh before speaking. "It's just, I wanted to let them save us. All of us. Everything would've been, _normal_." Ellie explained.

"Maybe for everyone else, but not for me, or for Joel." I said, turning to face her.

"They told me about the world before all... This." Ellie said. "They put this image in my head of a beautiful, unbroken world. I wanted the world to be whole again."

"I know Ellie. You were prepared to give everything to save us all. I was too selfish to let you." I told her.

"No you weren't." She interjected. "You did what you thought was right. I might've changed my mind if they had told me you were alive."

The silence that ensued was awkward. We both wanted to say more, but we didn't want to risk making the other angry.

"So uh... We staying here tonight?" Rylan asked as he stood on the shore.

I had forgotten that he was even with us and his voice made me jump a bit in surprise.

"Easy there." Ellie said, slipping her hand into mine as we turned to face Rylan.

Rylan seemed different now, he no longer gave off an aura of suspiciousness or malice. He was now focused on the world and was somewhat upbeat. He wore a shadow of a smile on his face, his eyes no longer so cold.

"I don't see why not." I told him, shrugging my shoulders. "But we should probably find a more protected area, don't want to be out in the open."

"I feel you. I'll check upstream a ways while you guys get your stuff together." He said, his horse trotting west along the bank of the Columbia.

Ellie and I stepped back onto the sandy bank, the sand coating our feet.

"Ewww!" Ellie complained as the sand squished between her toes and she jumped back into the water to clean them off.

"Here, I gotcha." I said. Ellie shrieked with laughter as I picked her up, carrying her like Joel had so long ago.

Ellie stared up at me as I walked up the beach and set her on the grass. She grabbed her shoes and socks, quietly slipping them on as I brushed wet sand off my feet before putting my own socks and shoes on. I picked up my backpack before heading to our horse who was laying in the grass a little ways away.

I coaxed our horse over to where Ellie sat on the grass, she was watching me the whole time, smiling as I swung myself onto the horse before helping her up. She wrapped her arms tight around me, squeezing me tight and resting her head on my back.

I could Rylan in the distance, traveling slowly as the ground dipped downward and the river slipping out of view ahead of us. Rylan soon also went below the dip, disappearing from my view.

When we came to where the river dipped, I could see a storage shed near the river and Rylan standing just outside it. The building was old and gray. It has no windows and looked as if a breeze could blow it over.

"Is it clear?" I asked Rylan as we approached him.

"I don't know, I haven't gone inside yet." He responded.

I hopped off the horse, helping Ellie off before joining Rylan by the boarded up door. I pressed my ear to the door. I couldn't hear anything, but that didn't mean nothing was inside.

"Ready?" I asked Rylan as I tore the boards from the door.

"Ready."

Rylan turned the handle and pushed. The door didn't budge an inch. He then pushed his body against the door, making it squeak loudly as the door opened slightly.

"Give me a hand will ya?" He asked, pushing once more against the door.

I stood beside him and pushed the metal inwards. Something was blocking the door, that much was obvious. I pushed harder, leading with my left shoulder. We pushed until the door swung open and there was a loud crash. Rylan and I fell to the ground as the door opened. Someone had barred the door with crates filled with earth in an attempt to seal either themselves in, or the outside world out.

I turned on my flashlight, scanning the empty building for any danger. Propped up against the far wall was a human skeleton.

"All clear!" I called out to Ellie who appeared beside me in the dark building.

The floor was barren concrete, cracked and gray. All the shelves were cleared of what they had once held.

"What do you think?" Rylan asked, pacing throughout the small building.

"This'll work. I'll get the horses inside." I told him, exiting the building.

I brought both horses through the door and led them to a corner where they could lie down. I unstrapped our sleeping bag from our horse, along with some extra blankets. I laid out our sleeping bag and pillow, stretching out on it when I was done and leaning up against the wall of the shed.

"Mind if I join you?" Ellie asked as she sat down in my lap and rested her head against my chest.

Rylan laid out some blankets near us, far enough for it to not be awkward for us.

"So Rylan." I started. He looked at me while waiting for my question. "We don't know much about you, what's your story?"

Rylan seemed unsure of what to say before starting. "What is there to say? I was born outside of any QZ's, not entirely sure where. My parents died when I was young, leaving me to wander around the Midwest with no real purpose." He told us. "What about you? What is your story?"

"Well." I started. "I was born just outside Tallahassee. My father was a drunk, my mother wasn't built for an apocalypse. I ran away when a pack of infected broke into our town and made my way north to Boston where I met Ellie and this guy Joel, who sadly isn't with us anymore."

I saw Rylan nod slowly, listening to my every word before Ellie started her story.

"I was born in Boston, never met my parents. Just like any other kid in any zone, I went to school, had military drills, and generally had a shitty time. I left Boston with Joel and Cameron to go find the fireflies." Ellie explained.

"So why are you two all the way out here?" Rylan asked.

"She," I said motioning at Ellie. "Wanted to see the ocean."

"Really?"

"Really."

Rylan studied us for a moment before lying down.

"Interesting." Was all he said before he turned away from us.

The shed fell silent besides the noises of Rylan's and the horses breathing. I felt Ellie's body slowly relax on top of me. I sighed, slightly upset about how I would have to sleep, but eventually succumbed to exhaustion and the sound of slow, steady breathing.

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review and fav/follow. As always, I'll see you all in chapter 5!**


	5. Chapter 5

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.5 - Long Beach

~~~Me~~~

The days were getting noticeably shorter and colder. Most days the sky was overcast and it would rain. The upside was that the landscape was no longer boring. Towering evergreens and the Columbia lined the old highway we traveled along, the salty smell of the ocean accompanying the trees sweet scent. In the distance above the treetops, you could see snow capped mountains. While most days it rained, I found it even more beautiful when it did.

"We're almost there, look." I said to Ellie, pointing at the faded green road sign that read. **"Long Beach City Park Next Exit"**

Ellie looked over my shoulder and studied the sign.

"Do you think that the hunters are gone?" She asked.

I had hoped she wouldn't bring up the hunters. We hadn't seen the hunters for about a month, but I had a feeling they were still there.

"I don't think so. Let's not talk about them right now." I told Ellie.

Luckily, it wasn't raining today and the sky was actually clear for once. The day was cool and crisp, a slight breeze would rustle us occasionally, but other than that the air was still.

The three of us took the next exit, slowly making our way down the destroyed off ramp.

"I think you two are crazy for doing this." Rylan said shaking his head.

"Everyone's a little crazy, I just happen to be crazier than most of them." I told him.

"Very true." Rylan chuckled.

We continued down the road until we saw a street sign that marked the entrance to the beach. The road was lined with trees, blocking our view of the ocean and we stopped before turning into the park. I hopped of the horse, Ellie quickly following me.

"Leave your socks and shoes here." I told Ellie who obeyed and slipped them off her feet.

"Alright baby. You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Ellie responded. I saw Rylan roll his eyes at us as we stepped around the corner into the remains of a very large parking lot. Stretched beyond the parking lot was the beach and the vast expanse of the ocean. It was currently low tide so the beach expanded far. Ellie's eyes gleamed as she stared at sight before her.

"It's... Amazing!"

Ellie left my side running to the beach, laughing with joy. Rylan walked past me, shaking his head and chuckling as he did.

The ocean was picturesque today. The deep blue waters of the pacific sparkled in the distance while the closer, shallower water glowed white blue, revealing the pearly sand beneath it. As Ellie ran towards the beach, she startled a flock of seagulls who took of into the air while screeching impossibly loud.

I joined Rylan in walking towards the beach, watching Ellie as she stood ankle deep in the water, staring out across the vast expanse of the water. I stood on the beach, just beyond where the water reached.

"It's so huge!" Ellie said over her shoulder as Rylan and I stood behind her.

"What's out there?" She asked.

"Water."

"No shit, really?"

"More land, continents and..."

***GROAN***

My sentence was cut off by a horde of infected and clickers rushing onto the beach.

"Shit! We gotta go!" Rylan said, whipping out his gun and firing rounds into the horde.

Ellie and I produced our own weapons, shooting at the mass approaching us before turning and running.

"Fuck my shoes!" Ellie yelled, slicing her foot on a shell.

"Ellie!" I called out, shooting an infected that had caught up to us and grabbed Ellie as she hobbled forward.

Ellie tumbled to the ground as the runner's body collapsed on top of her. Ellie screamed and shot wildly as infected and clickers alike converged on her. A pile of dead infected fell upon her, covering her as the horde devoured their slaughtered instead of Ellie.

The horde had split into three groups now, one after each of us. I saw Rylan take off down the beach, occasionally firing shots over his shoulder.

I stumbled backwards as I tried running from the group chasing me. I slipped in the sand trying to stand, barely avoiding a flailing clicker before regaining my composure and fleeing into the trees that lined the beach.

There were perhaps a dozen or so chasing me as I ran through the tightly packed trees. I turned to fire at an infected who got to close, only to here the empty click off my gun. I had no time to reload. The runner grabbed me, his teeth gnashing at my throat as he tried to bite me. I tumbled to the ground, jarring my body, causing my grip to slip on the runner's throat. I instinctively threw up my arm, feeling his teeth dig into the flesh and muscle on my right arm. I screamed in pain as it ripped a chunk off my arm. With my free arm, I fumbled for my knife, wielding it in time to stab the runner in the chest and throw him off of me.

I stood slowly, clutching my arm and attempting to reload my gun. Luckily for me, the rest of the group following me had trouble navigating the thick roots of the evergreens surrounding us and lost me in the woods. I slowly crept out from the woods, my arm throbbing in pain. I looked around and saw Rylan helping Ellie out of the pile of dead bodies. My legs shook violently as I approached them, my head spinning as well.

"Oh my god!" I heard Ellie exclaim as she saw my arm.

Rylan turned to face me, his eyes flashed with surprised before he pulled his gun on me.

"Get on your fucking knees!" He ordered.

"Rylan I..."

"Now!"

I slowly eased myself onto my knees, the sand sticking to my knees. I could feel blood dripping from my arm, soaking my pant leg and the sand beneath me.

"Rylan wait!" Ellie shouted, stepping in front of me just before Rylan pulled the trigger.

"For what? He's infected. It's the only thing we can do."

"Rylan, we're immune." Ellie explained, rolling up her sleeve and exposing the scarred flesh on the inside of her arm before grabbing my blood soaked left hand and showing Rylan my scarred bite mark.

"No. There's no way..." Rylan trailed off.

"These are from almost two years ago Rylan, you have to believe me." Ellie begged him.

I watched Rylan slowly lower his gun. "Alright."

That was the last thing I heard before I fell face first into the sand, losing consciousness before hitting the ground.

~~~Ellie~~~

Cameron had an unnatural tendency to lose consciousness. Once again, he lay before Ellie, face first in the sand.

"Shit." Ellie muttered to herself, rolling Cameron onto his back.

"You think you can carry him?" Ellie asked Rylan.

"Maybe." Rylan responded, kneeling down and struggling to lift Cameron's limp body.

"Hold on a sec." Ellie said, pulling a rag out of her bag and tightly wrapping Cameron's blood soaked arm.

Rylan readjusted his grip on Cameron before following Ellie towards where they had left the horses. Ellie untied the horses and led them down the road, Rylan following behind her.

"We need to find a place to stay and fast. It'll be night soon." Ellie said to Rylan who grunted in response.

Ellie continued down the road until she came upon a series of long driveways. She picked the first one and led Rylan down towards the beach house at the end of the drive. Ellie was amazed by the size of the house, she had seen some big houses, but this one was the largest she had stayed in. She managed to open the rusted garage door and left the horses in the garage, she then entered the house, following Rylan.

Rylan dropped Cameron on a couch and was left breathing heavily from his efforts.

"Rylan, help me look for medical stuff. Just grab anything that could be helpful." Ellie instructed.

"Yes ma'am."

Ellie looked through the bathrooms, finding only expired hydrogen peroxide and some painkillers, while Rylan had managed to scavenge some gauze, thread, a pair of scissors, and antibacterials.

Ellie examined Cameron's torn arm. Unlike his previous shoulder wound, this one was wide and part of the muscle had been ripped out. It sickened Ellie to look at his mangled flesh, but she had to do _something_.

Ellie set about cleaning the wound and the area around it. Luckily, none of the tendons in his arm had been severed as Ellie would have no way to fix them. Ellie set about stitching the wound as best she could then wrapping it tight to keep pressure on it.

"Alright." She started. "He should fine, hopefully."

"He will. Cameron's a tough son of a bitch." Rylan reassured her.

"I know, but sometimes I worry he may try to be _too_ tough." Ellie admitted.

Ellie worried about Cameron very often. Sometimes he acted as if he were invincible and would do something reckless and headstrong. Ellie wasn't sure what she would do if she lost Cameron.

"Well with all three of us. No amount of bandits or infected stand a chance."

"Everyone can die Rylan." Ellie told him.

"But not everyone can be killed." Rylan said, turning to leave Ellie with Cameron's unconscious body and her thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.6 - Instinct

~~~Ellie~~~

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. She could feel it.

"Rylan?" She called out into the night. She could hear him sit straight up.

"What?" He asked annoyed.

"Do you hear that?"

"No." He answered immediately, crashing back down to the ground.

Ellie scooted up against the cold wall, hugging her knees close to her body. She didn't often sleep away from Cameron, she hated to do it, but Ellie had let Cameron rest on the worn out mattress she had found. She listened carefully to the howling wind and pounding rain outside, a sick feeling growing in her stomach. Ellie held her breath, concentrating as best she could, just as Joel had taught her, for something out of the ordinary. She let out a long ragged breath as soon as she heard it again.

_Footsteps_? She thought, but the the rain and wind were too loud for her to distinguish the sound.

"Rylan?!"

"Shut the hell up! I hear it now." He responded rudely.

There was a loud bang as somewhere downstairs a door was slammed open, echoing through the empty halls. Ellie could now hear hushed voices and the squeaking of shoes on the wood floors. Rylan stood up quickly and began pushing things in front of the door. Once Rylan had barricaded the door he stepped backward and fumbled around for his gun.

"Quick, in here!" He ordered in a shushed voice, grabbing Ellie and pulling her into a closet.

Rylan held her tight, his heartbeat seemingly synced with hers. He was warm and Ellie suddenly felt comforted again as she absentmindedly nestled into his chest.

"Ellie stop." He said nervously.

Ellie's face flushed with heat and she loosened her hold on him. Ellie could hear people coming up the stairs towards the room they were holed up in. She held her breath as someone tried to open the door. There was a loud crashing sound as the furniture in front of the door toppled over.

"Camer-" Ellie was cut short by Rylan's hand being placed over her mouth.

"Well here's one of 'em." She heard a hunter say.

"Looks pretty beat up to me, maybe they left him here?" One said.

"Fuck that man. They're probably out getting supplies or something."

"In the middle of the night?"

"Well what are we doing?"

"You got a point. Let's just grab this one and get out of here."

Ellie heard a hunter grunt as he assumedly picked Cameron up off the bed and walk out the door.

"What are we doing?" She asked Rylan angrily, but quietly. "We have to go save him!"

"Ellie, we will. Just calm down a second. It wouldn't have done us any of good to jump out at them. It's hard to save someone if you're dead." Rylan said calmly.

"Yeah, you're right." Ellie admitted.

"You can let go now, Ellie."

Ellie again flushed red as she realized she was still holding Rylan tightly and stepped away from him. Rylan threw the closet door open and stepped back into the dark room. Ellie stood and stared at the empty bed, now realizing the weight of their situation.

"Oh my god" She exclaimed. "He's gone." She said, moving to the empty mattress, her emotions overwhelming her as she traced the imprint Cameron had left on the bed with her fingers.

She felt Rylan stand next to her and awkwardly try to console her. She jumped as his hand touched hers, making her arm and hand tingle. She quickly pulled her hand, confused by her now conflicting feelings.

"We should go." She told Rylan, backing away from him.

"I agree."

~~~Cameron~~~

The pain woke me. My arm burned and my body ached and bled as the hunters would take turns beating me.

"What's the matter pretty boy? You don't have you're pretty little girl here to help you?" One jeered as he punched me in the face.

All I did in response to their taunts and insults was smile.

"What're you smiling for? You into that kinky shit?" They would ask while laughing.

"I can't wait for your friends to show up." On told me. "I just want to get my hands on that girl of yours." He said grinning, showing his yellowed, rotted teeth.

I struggled with how to escape. They always kept someone watching me, as in sitting in a chair in front of me, plus I was tied down to a chair.

It was during one of their watch changes when I decided what I was going to do, after I finally snapped.

"Too bad your friends abandoned you. I bet they're off living their lives happily ever after without you." He said standing over me.

I glared at him, something overcoming me that I hadn't felt in a long time, and as he leaned in to whisper something in my ear, I released it. I jerked my head forward and tore at his neck with my teeth, the metallic taste of his blood filling my mouth as I tore open his throat and he fell to the ground choking and grabbing at his wound. Blood coated my lips and chin as I watched him bleed out on the floor.

"Too bad you're fucking dead." I muttered as his body became still.

I had managed to loosen the knot that bound my wrists and slipped my left hand out, then my right. I rubbed the soreness from the joints before untying my legs and standing shakily. I may be weaker now than normal, but the taste of the hunters blood awoke a sick instinct that constantly gnawed at me. My body twitched involuntarily and I licked the blood from my lips, it's taste very familiar to me. I opened the door to my small, dark cell and shielded my eyes from the bright light that filtered through the boarded up windows.

A guard stood at the end of a hallway, facing away from me. I stumbled towards him, thirsty and rabid. The darkest parts of my being needing to be nourished. I made sure to make the least amount of noise possible as I approached, my vision narrowing, turning hazy and the only thing I could think about was the taste of his blood. I grabbed the hunter from behind and bit into his neck, his hot blood spurting into my mouth as I ripped the flesh from his neck and he fell to the ground gurgling.

I suddenly felt sick and threw up on the guards corpse. The other side of me trying to pull myself back into reality.

The last few moments had been a blur to my human side. I stared at my bloody hands and the body below me, a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth.

"What did I do?" I asked myself.

"What you needed to." I responded.

It was as if two people occupied my body now, both clawing to take control of me. I was broken.

"Stop!" I yelled, grabbing my head.

"Don't fight it."

"Get the fuck out of my head!"

My head throbbed violently, driving me to my knees. My head felt as if it was splitting apart as I argued and fought with myself.

I finally collapsed to the ground completely exhausted, the pain returning to my body, but diminishing in my head as my normal thoughts returned. I laid face down on the cool concrete floor, shaking violently as I recovered. I could hear commotion in the distance, but the only I concentrated on was not dying.

"What is happening to me?" I sobbed.


	7. Chapter 7

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.7 - Comatose

~~~Ellie~~~

"Through here." Rylan whispered, pulling open a vent that led into an old abandoned school where Ellie had tracked the hunters.

The Inside of the vent reeked of piss and rotten flesh. Ellie scrawled through the right confines of the metal tube, careful not to touch anything that littered the sides.

"Oh fuck." Ellie exclaimed as she stared through the grate at the other end of the vent.

Inside were piles of bodies stripped of their belongings.

"Let's hope none of those are Cameron." Rylan said as Ellie opened the grate and stood in the room.

"He's alive, I know he is." Ellie told him optimistically.

Rylan let out a long sigh. Ellie could tell that Rylan didn't share the same optimism. They snuck quietly down a long hallway, carefully avoiding any hunter that happened to wander towards them.

"Shit the kids out!" Ellie heard someone yell from the end of the hallway. Ellie and Rylan shrunk into the shadows as all the hunters they passed went sprinting to the end of the hallway.

"Might as well follow them." Rylan said with a shrug.

Ellie nodded in agreement and followed Rylan down the hallway and turned left into a cafeteria. The room was littered with trash and scraps of rotten food.

"Something seems wrong." Rylan said, stopping in the middle of the cafeteria.

"What? I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. No gunshots." Rylan told her.

"Well that means he isn't dead, right?" Ellie asked.

"We'll see." Rylan answered as he moved to the other end of the cafeteria.

Ellie followed him through the swinging double doors into another, long, narrower hallway. She could hear some muffled screams and terrified cries down around the corner.

"Shit!" Rylan said, taking off at a run down the hallway, Ellie close behind.

As they neared where the hallway turned, Ellie could hear crying and a harsh gurgling noise coming from around the corner. From around the corner, a man crawled out, his throat ripped open, spilling his sticky blood on the tiles.

"Help me!" He gurgled before slumping down lifeless.

"How did the infected get in?" Ellie whispered to Rylan.

"Sh! They could still be here!" Rylan hushed her while pressing himself against the wall.

The sobbing continued, accompanied by a sickening crack and a wet squelching noise as a body got ripped apart. Rylan peeked around the corner, grimacing, but something was wrong. The confused look on his face told Ellie everything.

"You've got to fucking see this." Rylan whispered to her.

Ellie leaned forward past Rylan to look around the wall. The adjacent hallway was littered with several bodies, each with either throats torn open or chests ripped apart. Ellie scanned the area until she spotted Rylan's anomaly. Kneeling in the middle of the room was Cameron. Twitching a sobbing hysterically. Ellie watched him then collapse to the ground, seizing.

"Cameron!?" Ellie called out to him.

Cameron's head turned slowly towards her as he stopped twitching. His face and hands were coated in blood, a terrified look in his eye.

"Get out of here!" He yelled.

Ellie stood motionless in the hallway, a strange mixture of emotions filling her. She stared deep into Cameron's pained, misty eyes and watched as they glazed over and he began twitching and seizing again.

"Make it stop!" He screamed in pain, clutching at his head.

Ellie ran to his side, attempting to soothe and calm him in the throes of his pain. Cameron eventually began to calm down again and Ellie pressed herself into him.

"We should get him out of here." Rylan suggested. "I'll carry him, let's go."

~~~Me~~~

Pain. All I could feel was pain. My body ached and burned as I had seizure after seizure. I was unable to eat as most food made me sick. I lay whimpering on a mattress, Ellie curled up beside me the entire time.

In the times I was conscious and able to think clearly, all I did was hold Ellie, her hair splayed out across my chest as I tried to maintain control over my mind. Ellie somehow helped me through the worst of whatever was happening to me, it felt as if my pain and suffering were dulled when she was there.

After three days of being bedridden, I was able to stand. My fever lifted soon after and the seizures were now uncommon, but my mind would be forever damaged. I struggled internally with different dark desires threatening to take me over.

But I was alive.

"You ready?" Rylan asked me as I shouldered my backpack.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I replied, smiling at Ellie as she gripped my arm tightly.

"Good. Northward it is." He said as we stepped through the door.

I took a deep breath, savoring the salty smell of the sea mixed with the sweet smells of the evergreen forests.

"North?" Ellie asked confused.

"I've got a place I want to show you two, I know you'll like it." Rylan answered as he hopped onto his horse.

"Sounds fine to me." I said. "Long as we are out before Winter ends."

"We will, _trust me_."

**A/N In the game, they never described how people turn and this is my adaption of what happens when somewhen turns and what happened to Cameron. Cameron suffered some symptoms of being infected, but he is able to naturally suppress them except for when he comes in contact with some triggers. (uninfected blood, extreme threat etc.) Anyway, leave a review and I'll see you all in chapter 8!**


	8. Chapter 8

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.8 - For Better...

~~~Me~~~

I wasn't the same. Ellie clung to me happily as we rode northward, playfully tickling my stomach and chest and kissing the back of my neck.

But I couldn't look her in the eye anymore. Each time I saw her longing, sparkling eyes, I couldn't help but be filled with sadness and despair.

"Cameron?" Ellie asked suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'd say yes, but you'd know I was lying." I responded.

"Do you want to talk about it Cam?" She asked innocently.

I visibly flinched at my nickname. I began to have a gnawing hunger growing within me and my head began to spin and throb painfully as I couldn't control myself and fell off our horse, convulsing on the ground below.

"Cameron?!" I heard Ellie scream as I fought to keep control of myself.

My bodies movements became erratic and violent as Rylan tried pinning me to the ground. With abnormal strength, I threw him off of me.

My convulsions suddenly stopped and Ellie kneeled over me. It was too late. I had lost my internal battle.

I felt my body lurch upwards at Ellie, then I tasted blood and her screams were gurgled as she fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from her throat. I watched as she gasped for breath until she was still.

"Cameron!" I heard someone shout, waking me from my nightmare.

I was sweaty and hot, no doubt my bodies reaction to the horrifying experience.

"Cameron are you okay?" Ellie asked, rolling onto her side and grabbing my hand.

"No."

"The nightmares again?" She asked me.

"Yes, but worse than before." I admitted.

"What happened?"

"You... You died Ellie."

Ellie stared at me, neither concerned not worried about my statement.

"Well it'll take a lot to kill me. Not just anyone or _anything_ can do it." Ellie joked.

"Ellie. It was me. I was the one who killed you." I choked out.

She stared at me blankly.

"Cam, I know you would never intentionally hurt me. I understand with your whole, whatever-the-fuck-is-happening-to-you thing, that if you did hurt me, that it wouldn't be you." Ellie said calmly.

"How are you so calm? I'm dying, Ellie. I'm afraid for you, for Rylan, for myself. I'm not even human anymore." I said, stumbling over my final few words.

Ellie just looked at me, her green eyes piercing mine as she stroked my chest.

"I'm never calm. There are a million ways we should've died before today, and a million ways we can die before tomorrow. So I fight, for myself, for you, for Rylan, Tommy, anyone. I fight for us to be together, whether it be two minutes, or two days. Every second means something. If you were going to die, this is how I'd want to spend it." Ellie said.

I sat in silence. Ellie was right. I needed to fight for her and for our future.

"Ellie?"

"Hmm?"

"I just want you to know that I love you." I told her.

She leaned up and planted a kiss on my lips.

"How could you not?" She asked arrogantly, a smirk forming on her face.

"They'd have to be crazy not to."

"What? And you aren't crazy already?" Ellie teased.

"Alright that was too far and too soon." I told her, slightly offended by her joke.

"Sorry."

"How 'bout we get some more sleep? I'm exhausted."

~~~Ellie~~~

The cool afternoon drizzle was refreshing for Ellie, she enjoyed feeling the chilly prickle on her skin, and it seemed to make everything more elegant. She loved the way different types of foliage gathered the silver drops, making their leaves glitter slightly as the drops rolled to the ground. She wished that her life was always as easy as it was now, traveling the shattered, yet beautiful, Earth that humanity had _Left Behind,_ and spending the days holding the one person she truly cared for as they wandered northward.

"We shouldn't be far now." Rylan said suddenly as Ellie caught the beautiful glint of dark blue water in the distance.

"There's the Sound." Cameron told her, pointing to the water in the distance.

"The what?"

"The Puget Sound, Ellie, it's different than the Ocean because it is somewhat contained." Cameron explained.

"Oh yeah? How would you know?" Ellie asked.

"My Dad was born here, he always said that he wished his Mom had never moved to Chicago. He had maps of the State all over his room." He told her.

"It is really pretty." Ellie remarked.

"It really is."

Ellie smiled and placed her cheek against Cameron's back, feeling his back muscles flex against her face. The gentle trot of their horse was extremely relaxing to Ellie as she stared out towards the glimmering Sound.

"There it is." Rylan said suddenly.

Ellie picked her head up and peered over Cameron's shoulder. In the distance, she could see the tops of skyscrapers and what appeared to be a giant needle.

"Welcome to Seattle."

Ellie was suddenly gripped with fear, her worst memories and emotions spilling to the surface. Her eyes locked onto Rylan's, who smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't worry, nobody has been here since the outbreak began because the spores really love it here, there aren't even quarantine walls." Rylan explained.

Ellie felt somewhat relieved now, but it would take a lot for her to get over her fear of cities.

"Are you sure about this Rylan?" Cameron asked. "I've got a bad feeling about this city."

"It's safe, trust me."

They continued in silence down the old interstate towards the big, port city. The buildings slowly grew larger and larger as the hours ticked past, Ellie feeling more and more comfortable with each passing minute.

"I really wanted to show you this one spot I remember from last time I was here." Rylan told them as he lead them down into downtown.

Ellie gazed up at the tall, leaning buildings, wondering how people could ever accomplish building something of the skyscrapers size. She also noticed that the cloud cover had started to be blown away slowly, revealing the pale blue sky hiding behind the gray wall.

"We'll stop near the water first." Rylan said as they came to the crest of a hill that overlooked a large portion of the Sound.

Most of the docks were lined with industrial loading areas and half sunken, rusted tankers, slowly bobbing back and forth in the currently gentle waters.

"Is that a Ferris wheel?" Ellie asked surprised.

She had spotted the massive attraction out of the corner of her eye, standing tall on the boardwalk. The paint was faded and the buckets rusted out, but to Ellie, it seemed to make the boardwalk more appealing. She loved the sound of the horses hooves on the still sturdy wood as they reached the boardwalk. Ellie gazed over Cameron's shoulder, staring out at the seemingly endless ocean, the delicious salty scent of the water was extremely strong. Ellie hopped off the horse, her feet making a dull _**thud**_ as she landed on the ground.

"It's amazing." Ellie commented as she leaned against the railing, watching the gentle waves and the seagulls gliding around above.

"If we're lucky we'll see a whale." Cameron said as he stood beside her.

Ellie looked up at him, she could feel her eyes widen in disbelief.

"A whale?!"

"Yeah, or maybe even an Orca." He told her.

"It is the season for them." Rylan added.

"Or you could see one of those." Cameron said, pointing out into the Sound.

The small furry creature swam on its back, it appeared to be taking a nap to Ellie.

"Is that an otter!? It's so cute!" Ellie said excitedly as the creature dunked beneath the water.

Ellie watched the water for a while longer, trying to find any creatures that may have been on or near the surface, but there were none.

"If you guys are done, I'd like to show another place." Rylan suggested.

Ellie managed to pull herself away from the railing and back up onto the horse as Rylan began leading us back into the downtown area. The city was still in relatively good shape. Quite a few buildings still stood, although they were ivy covered and the taller ones seemed to be leaning, threatening to fall over. One building was taller than the rest, a huge, black windowed skyscraper that made the rest of the towers seem small was getting closer and closer.

"Rylan, are you taking us there?" Ellie asked, pointing to the massive tower before them.

"The view at the top is worth the walk." Rylan answered as they stopped in front the building.

"The Columbia Tower."

Ellie looked up, the top not visible from their position.

"We have to walk all the way up?" Cameron asked, sounding stressed and exhausted.

"Nah I was kidding, the elevator still worked last time I was here. We just have to find the generator." Rylan explained.

They entered the lobby of the skyscraper and Ellie was amazed by the elegance of the interior of the building. The large lobby was enclosed completely by windows, with ivy growing up the walls and on the tiled floor. Ellie could imagine what it must've been like in the lobby before the outbreak. People everywhere, going about their business, unaware of their inevitable destruction.

"Let there be power!" Ellie heard Rylan yell as the lights flickered on and the elevator light turned on with a quiet _ding_.

"Up we go." Cameron said, hitting the glowing orange button, making the elevator doors slide open.

Ellie stepped into the elevator, the carriage bouncing with each step. Rylan slipped in before the door closed and hit a button on the right side of the door. Ellie grabbed Cameron's hand as the doors slid shut and the elevator lurched upwards.

~~~Me~~~

It was strange riding an elevator. It felt as though we were going to plummet to the ground at any second. Ellie and I looked at each other nervously, but Rylan appeared to be filled with childish glee as we bobbed upward still.

"Almost there." Rylan said excitedly.

There was a loud _ding_ as the elevator lurched to a stop, making my stomach flip. The doors slid open and spores began flooding the elevator.

"Shit!" Rylan muttered, pulling on his gas mask as we drew our weapons.

"Do you hear...?"

"Shh! I'm listening." I said, cutting Rylan off.

I strained my hearing, listening for any creaks, groans, or clicks. The elevator wobbled slowly as I did, creating a low grinding sound.

"I don't hear anything." I announced, stepping out onto the spore filled floor.

"Good." Rylan and Ellie both said simultaneously, Rylan's voice altered by the mask.

"Follow me." He added, walking towards a large metal door near the elevator.

"Need help with that?" I asked Rylan as he struggled to pull open the rusted door.

"Please."

I pulled as hard as I could on the door with him, straining my leg, back, and arm muscles as the door creaked before flying open and sending us sprawling to the ground.

A pale light filtered through the door and the spores. I stood and brushed the bits of rust of my clothes.

"Up the stairs and we are there." Rylan told us I helped him to his feet.

Ellie gazed up the metal steps as I stepped up next to her.

"After you." I said, gesturing up the stairs.

Ellie smiled vibrantly at me before ascending the old metal steps. I followed her up, shielding my eyes from the bright sunlight as I stepped up onto the roof of the tower.

"Wow." I heard Ellie say as she spun to look at everything around her.

From the roof, you could see for miles. Seemingly endless forests of Evergreens sprawled in every direction. You were able to see the entirety of the Puget Sound to the west as well as the archipelago that resided within it. Across the sound we could see the snow capped Olympic Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. To the east, we could see the towering Cascades, dominated by Mt. Rainier. To the north and south, the urban areas of the Pacific Northwest continued in a broken, yet beautiful tangle of buildings and roads.

"This is amazing." I said as I took in all the scenery around us.

"Well it is about to be over, look." Rylan called out to us as he peered over the edge.

Down below, I could see smoke and a little bit of movement off near the edge of the city where the hunters had set up camp.

"Shit."

**A/N I'm back! I was able to finish this chapter because my soccer season is now done because I broke my jaw in a game. I'll be fine, but in the meantime I'm writing for you guys! I hope you enjoyed, don't forget to review, follow, and favorite. As always, I'll see you all in chapter 9!**


	9. Chapter 9

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.9 - Falling

**"Everything is teetering on the edge of everything."**

**\- John Konrad, ****_Spec Ops: The Line_**

~~~Me~~~

"How many?" Rylan asked as I crouched atop the Columbia Tower, peering through the scope of my rifle towards the hunters camp.

"Too many." I answered. "We've got to go, now."

I stood, keeping the weapons stock pressed firmly against my shoulder as I lowered the barrel. Rylan and I jogged over to where Ellie was pacing back and forth.

"C'mon, we have to go." I told her as we walked by.

We walked down the metal steps that led into the building, pushing open the door and stepping back into the spore filled floor.

"Shit." Rylan said as I felt the building shift slightly beneath my feet.

Rylan hit the elevator button, but the button stayed dark, we were stuck at the top.

"No no no." He mumbled as he punched the button in frustration.

I heard the familiar groaning of metal sliding and bending as the floor shifted again.

"Um guys?!" Ellie asked worried.

"Rylan, what the fuck is going on!" I yelled as he fumbled with the elevator buttons.

"The buildings coming down, we need to go." He said calmly, taking off towards the stairs.

"Motherfucker wait for us!"

I grabbed Ellie by the arm and pulled her towards the stairwell. Rylan had already started down the multiple flights of steps, going as fast as he could. We followed as the buildings supports protested again and again. I could hear infected pounding against the metal doors that lead into the stairwell as we ran past them. The building began shifting very violently as we continued our descent. We turned the corner around the railing and ran straight into Rylan, who stood peering out over the missing stairwell.

"It's gone..." Rylan pointed out nervously.

"Let's go back up a level, there has to be a stairwell on the other side." I suggested, dragging Ellie back up the steps.

I drew my handgun from my holster as I barreled through the metal door into the main part of the building. The floor was so filled with spores that I couldn't see across the floor to the other side. I ran blindly across the room, eventually spotting the large glass windows and another stairwell. I peered out the floor-to-ceiling windows, noticing that we were around halfway down the tower.

"Go!" I yelled to Ellie as I forced open the door with my shoulder.

I followed Ellie down the stairs, we were running our fastest, but I doubted we would make it to the bottom and out of harms way before it collapsed.

The tower began tipping down towards the stairwell opposite of us. I suddenly had a crazy, suicidal idea.

"Ellie!" I called out to her.

She turned to look at me as I forced my way into the main part of the building.

"You have to trust me on this Ellie, it's the only way we are getting out of this alive." I told her.

"What are you...?" I stopped Ellie mid sentence by grabbing her arm and sprinting to the other end of the floor.

I looked out the window and saw what I was hoping for. A parking garage stood to the right of the tower, out of the path of its fall.

"Ellie, jump when I do." I explained, moving the corner of the room and smashing a window.

Suddenly, Rylan burst into the room.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Rylan shouted.

"Staying alive."

The building creaked loudly and began to fall. I watched Rylan sprint towards us. I had to time this perfect.

"Ellie, jump!" With that I pushed myself out the window as strongly as I could, the parking garage just a couple meters away.

I still held onto Ellie as we seemed to fall in slow motion. This feeling was alleviated by my body smashing into the hard concrete in the parking garages roof. I tucked my body up and managed to dissipate a lot of the force of the fall into a backwards roll. I ended up in a sitting position, Ellie in a similar position near me. I heard a scream and saw Rylan's body hit the concrete barrier on the edge of the roof. I rushed over to him, pulling him onto solid ground.

"Fuck!" He wheezed, clutching his ribs before throwing up.

"I can't believe we just did that." Ellie said shocked.

"I wouldn't mind not having to do that ever again." I told her. "You gonna be okay Rylan?"

"I think so, I just feel a bit sick." He said.

I helped Rylan to his feet.

"How about we get on some solid ground?" I suggested.

Ellie and Rylan both nodded in agreement. The area around the tower was now covered in a sense cloud of debris, making it difficult to see and breath.

"Oh shit." I muttered as I heard hundreds of screams and clicks as infected of all stages came rushing to where the tower once stood.

"Uh, Cameron?" Rylan said, facing the opposite direction.

I turned to see hunters moving down the street, infected running towards them in masses. We were pinned between them.

"I hope you're ready!" I shouted to Ellie and Rylan.

I switched the safety off my handgun and took the machete Rylan offered me.

The three of us stood back to back in a triangle. Rylan wielded his signature _Ghost_ and and a machete of his own and Ellie shouldered my rifle I had handed to her, her own handgun sticking out of her waistband.

The infected hit us first. I swung my machete through any infected within arms reach, severing and splitting fungus-ridden heads. I used my handgun ammo sparingly, firing the weapon only a few times at some onrushing clickers.

Bodies littered the ground around us, the rich smell of blood flooding my nostrils as I heard gunfire erupt from the hunters as they joined the fight. The hunters focused mainly on the army of infected, only a few of them noticing us before we cut them down.

The infected tore into the hunters, their screams drawing more attention as they were ripped to pieces. The horde was still coming, we were going to be overwhelmed soon.

"Get the fuck off!" I heard Rylan yell as he held back a clicker with his machete blade before slicing its head off.

I swung my machete as much as I could, trying to stab as little as possible. I swung until my machete broke against a clickers fungal plate on its face.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, shooting the clicker as more rushed towards us.

"We've gotta go, now!" I yelled to Rylan and Ellie."

"Where?" Ellie asked.

"Just follow me." I growled, kicking a runner down and stomping on its head, blood and gray matter splattering on the ground and on my shoe.

I took off running towards a building, blindly hoping that we could reach its roof. I kicked the rotten wooden door, the material splintering from the force. I entered the building with my gun at the ready.

"Not so fast!" A voice said, as I spun around to see hunters had followed us into the building.

"Go! I can handle them." I told Rylan and Ellie.

"Cameron? We can.."

"Now!"

"Pretty boy thinks he can handle us?" One said.

"Why does everyone call me that?"

"Let's get 'me boys!" He said as they ran at me.

I easily dodged the first hunter, redirecting him straight into the stairs with a slight push, his head crashing into them. The other two were smarter, slowing before meeting me. They both swung at the same time, I used one's arm to block the others swing, then pulled him towards me and kneeing him in the head. I threw the hunters now limp body into his partner, knocking him off balance and pounced on him, pinning him to the ground.

"You should've left." I growled.

A look of terror spread across his face at tore his throat out with my teeth, his screams drowning in his own blood.

I stood from the hunters lifeless body, blood stained my face, it's metallic scent and flavor filling my mouth and nose. I felt excited from my kill, my vision narrowed and the world outside seemed to slow down. The infected outside feel to the ground in an exaggerated slow motion. I watched bullets tear their flesh apart and hunters blood spurting from their necks and chests as they were devoured.

"Fuck! Stop!" I yelled at myself, slipping out of my primal state and back to human.

I ran up the stairs, following them until I burst out onto the roof. I spotted Rylan and Ellie near the opposite edge.

"Cam! Are you okay?" Ellie asked worriedly.

"Fine, lets go."

"Where? There's nowhere to go." Rylan said.

"We jump."

"Are you crazy?" Rylan asked.

"Yep." I responded, taking a few steps back and running to the edge of the building, jumping off and grabbing the edge of the building next to us.

"See? Nothing to it." I told them as I hoisted myself up onto the roof.

"C'mon, I'll catch you."

Ellie and Rylan looked at each other nervously before Ellie backed up and leaped from the edge of the building. Ellie caught the edge of the building and my arm and I helped pull her up.

"Let's go, we have to get out of here." I yelled to Rylan as infected appeared behind him.

"Ah, fuck me!" He exclaimed before jumping towards us.

Rylan caught the edge and pulled himself up. I looked over at the opposite roof to see infected sprinting straight off the edge.

"C'mon we're almost out of this thing." I told them as I jogged across the roof.

We made our way across rooftops until we reached the viaduct and crossed the stacked bridges heading north, meeting no more trouble along the way.

"Hell of a day huh?" I asked Rylan and Ellie as we sat around a small fire just north of Seattle.

"That's an understatement." Rylan mumbled.

"Maybe warn us next time before you go all suicidal on us." Ellie said.

"We're alive aren't we?"

"Barely." Rylan and Ellie replied at the same time.

"Your welcome."

**A/N I'm back! So about the account change, I was hacked and lost everything. It was tough and heartbreaking, but it didn't deter me. I just hope everyone who looked forward to seeing the end of my stories eventually finds them. Anyway, thanks for reading, and as always I'll see you all in chapter 10!**


	10. Chapter 10

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.10 - Lost

**(BenRG) Wow, some very intelligent responses, thank you. I will explain Cameron's (and Ellie's) immunity later on, but now is not the time.**

**Also, I have a about four different endings for this chapter that start with this chapter. If you guys want, I can post the different endings.**

**"We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us."**  
**\- Andrew Ryan, Bioshock**

~~~~**Winter**~~~~

~~~Me~~~

I rubbed my freezing hands together to try and keep them warm. The rain came down in sheets, stinging my hands and face as it blew sideways.

"God! I'm not going to last much longer out here." Rylan said houted over the wind.

I felt it too. My face, hands, and feet were all frost bitten from the cold and from the freezing rain.

"I know, but I can't see shit with this rain!" I shouted back to him.

Ellie walked slowly in front of us, shivering slowly as we walked north up the interstate. I scanned the surrounding area, looking for any kind of shelter, but the rain blocked out most of my vision. We slowly walked on, the only sounds were the wind, rain, and our feet.

"There!" I heard Rylan shout.

I looked over at him to see him pointing off the road towards a still intact building. We ran towards it, looking forward to getting out of the rain and the cold. We hopped the concrete barrier, my feet sank into the soft earth, making an annoying squelching sound as I ran towards the drab looking building. The building stood amongst the rubble of other destroyed buildings, it appeared almost completely rectangular, with a flat roof and no windows on our side. The bricks were sun bleached and crumbling, but it appeared that it would stand for a good while longer. We ran around to the front of the building, out onto the road and circled back through the front door. The building was almost completely bare, except for some empty shelves and boxes.

"Oh my god!" Ellie exclaimed, collapsing to the floor, breathing heavily.

"Damn. It sucks out there." Rylan said.

"Help me grab some of this." I told Rylan, grabbing a cardboard box and tearing it apart before throwing it into the center of the empty building.

Rylan and I made a pile of cardboard that I then made into a fire.

"It ain't gonna last long, but it sure feels nice." I said to Rylan.

Ellie eventually dragged herself across the room towards the hot fire in the middle of the room.

"You should take some of this wet stuff off." I suggested to Ellie.

I helped her struggle out of her soaked clothes, leaving her in her underwear, and laid them out near the fire. Rylan seemed uncomfortable and avoided looking at either me or Ellie, although I caught him staring at Ellie a couple times.

Ellie curled up in a ball next to the fire, shivering uncontrollably.

"Shivering's a good sign." Rylan said quietly.

I looked at him, he seemed lost in thought, a strange smirk forming on his face.

"Uh, you okay Rylan?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Rylan continued staring off into space as I unclipped my sleeping bag from my bag. I unzipped it, the inside still dry, and threw it over Ellie.

"Thank god the thing is waterproof." I muttered to myself.

I sat down next to Ellie's form, listening to the rain pound against the roof. I was exhausted and cold. It seemed as if it hadn't stopped raining for weeks and the gray skies and cold air dampened our spirits.

"I think we should just stay here for a few days. Y'know, let the worst weather blow through." Rylan suggested.

"No. Those hunters are still hot on our asses. We can spend maybe a day here at most."

"Who made you the leader?"

"Are you shitting me right now?" I asked angrily.

"Maybe we should ask Ellie what she thinks."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I said exasperated. "You've been perfectly fine with everything we've done so far, but now you can't handle a decision we've been making ever since we met."

Rylan stared blankly at me, his arms folded across his chest.

"Ask her." He said slowly.

"Fine. Whatever."

I turned to Ellie who now sat up with our sleeping bag wrapped around her.

"What do you think Ellie? Should we keep moving, or stay here for a bit?"

"I don't think I could leave..." She responded. Her words were drawn out and quiet.

"Well it's settled then, this is our new home for now."

I sighed discontentedly, turning and walking towards the front of the store. I stared out the front window, watching the rain hit the cracked pavement and roll away in small streams.

"Shit!" I heard Rylan exclaim from across the empty building. "I've got no food left!"

Rylan shook the contents of his bag out onto the ground. He used exaggerated and slow motions, as if he was trying to prove a point.

"Well, go out and find some then!" I said angrily, gesturing towards the door.

"Why should I have to do everything?"

I was pissed now. I wasn't entirely sure what Rylan's problem was with me all of a sudden. I clenched and unclenched my fists while setting my jaw strongly. I fought back my primal instinct to tear his body to pieces, but I wasn't so sure that I could for much longer.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I shouted at him.

"What are you talking about?" He replied flippantly.

I stomped towards Rylan, stopping inches from his slightly smirking face.

"You are being a massive, fucking bitch!" I said slowly and forcefully.

Rylan just smiled and turned away from me. I grabbed my bag off the ground and threw it over my shoulders.

"I'm going to go look for supplies." I said angrily, storming out into the pounding rain.

The rain stung. I realized as I stormed off into the nameless town that the rain was mixed with ice. I searched half heartedly, finding some food there, some medical stuff here, but I really just needed to get away.

The sleet had stopped, replaced with dry, powdery snow. This was when I realized that I had no idea where I was, or how to get back to Ellie. I had been too busy being pissed off at Rylan over some stupid argument to pay attention to my surroundings. It wouldn't have done any good anyway. The ground was covered with a thin film of fresh, white snow and it swirled hastily through the air, choking me as I stumbled through the seemingly random blizzard.

~~~Ellie~~~

Cameron wasn't back yet. It was almost nighttime and Cameron was still out there by himself, in the blizzard.

"Do you think he's okay?" Ellie asked Rylan worriedly.

"Of course. He's the toughest son-of-a-bitch I've ever met." Rylan replied without looking up at her.

Ellie stared coldly at him. This was his fault, and he was acting like it was nothing.

"Stop worrying. We don't even know if he's lost or in trouble, maybe he found some good shit out there." Rylan added nervously.

Ellie watched him as he picked underneath his nails with his knife. He shifted nervously. Ellie knew that he could feel her watching him.

"You know what? I'll go look for him? How's that sound?" He suggested, standing up and striding across the room.

"Should've done it earlier." Ellie muttered to herself.

Ellie could hear him grabbing his stuff as he walked towards the door. A sudden blast of chilly air blew in as she heard the door creak slowly open, then closed.

Ellie was very worried. Or was she? She wasn't sure whether to worry about Cameron or to think positively. It ultimately wouldn't matter anyway, whatever happens would happen regardless of what Ellie thought. With this in mind, she assumed the worst and started crying. Ellie curled up in a ball and covered by the sleeping bag, fell into a fitful sleep.

"Shit!" Ellie was awoken by a familiar voice stumbling through the front door.

Ellie jumped up from the floor, Rylan was standing at the door, the little light of the nearing dawn illuminating him.

"Did you find him?" Ellie asked, her voice quivering.

"I'm sorry Ellie."

Rylan took a few steps towards Ellie. Ellie backed away from him and ran into something.

"I'm so sorry."

Ellie looked over her shoulder to see a man standing behind her, then she crumpled to the ground unconscious as the man hit her in the head with the butt of his gun.

~~~Me~~~

The hunters were close, just on the other side of the wall. I listened in on what they were saying.

"... almost got them." A voice said.

"If the boy can do his job." One replied.

"He's just waiting for the right moment, he always gets the job done."

"Sure he does like when..."

I heard the crackling of a radio. "Rylan's got the girl, call off the search." The voice on the radio said.

"What about the other kid? He's still out there and dangerous."

"He's not a problem anymore." The radio replied.

"Alright boys, you heard him, let's go."

I had my ear pressed against the wall still. I did nothing but try and control my breathing. Rylan had played us this whole time. Suddenly, I didn't fight it anymore and my other side won.

"I'm going to kill you _Rylan_!"

**Please favorite, follow, and review! I'll see you all in chapter 11!**


	11. Chapter 11

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.11 - Psycho

**"****A man chooses; a slave obeys." **

**\- Andrew Ryan, ****_BioShock_**

~~~Me~~~

I stalked the retreating hunters silently, following them through the snow to wherever they were going. It was extremely similar to that dreadful day a year ago when Joel and I saved Ellie from David. I felt scared then, but now, I only felt hate. Hate for a person I had trusted so easily, and now that person has torn Ellie away from me.

I was going to get Ellie back.

**_Boston QZ, North Tunnel Smuggler Hideout, almost 2 Years Ago_**

_"Your watch is broken."_

_"Psh." Joel spat as he closed his eyes and reclined on the couch. _

_I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, hovering between Joel and Ellie. _

_Ellie went and sat in an overstuffed armchair that faced the window, overlooking the wall and the outside wall. She pulled a book out of her bag and started reading it. I watched her as she read, this girl had peeked my interests. Fiery-haired with emerald green eyes and a cute, freckled face, she also seemed intelligent and fierce._

_"So uh..."_

_"Sh! I'm trying to read." Ellie said rudely. _

_I turned away from her and sat against the wall. I fell asleep propped up against the wall and studying Ellie. _

_"You mumble in your sleep." Ellie told me as awoke startled. _

_"I hate bad dreams."_

_"Me too." I replied._

_"I've never been this close." Ellie explained. "To the outside." She added. _

_"It can't be any worse out there, can it?"_

_"You'd be surprised." I said honestly, sitting on the arm of her chair._

_"Sorry about getting mad at you earlier." She apologized. "It's just... I don't... I don't want to get attached to anyone right now."_

_"I understand. I've been through a lot these past couple of months."_

_"Mmmm." Ellie acknowledged quietly. _

_We stared out over the dark expanse outside of Boston in silence, neither of us wanting to say anything more._

**Present Day**

The hunters continued to stomp through the blizzard, quickly making their way back to wherever they came from. I followed silently.

I knew how these guys worked, how they behaved. I knew everything about hunters, because all hunters are always the same, brutal, idiotic, senseless creatures.

But I was about to stoop to their level.

I don't think I could've stopped it if I had tried. I don't remember much from my silent stalking. I remember wanting to kill, something, anything.

So when they arrived back at their "base", a dilapidated, once grand mansion that teetered proudly by itself, I didn't fight it. I leaped from the snow-laden trees, biting throats, shattering ribcages, and breaking skulls.

Their blood drained from their broken, mangled bodies, seeping deep into the muddy snow. I dragged my twitching body into the mansion, surprised to see no hunters in the foyer. My body burned hot with hatred for everyone as I pulled myself further into the building.

_Ellie!_

My head split with immense pain as I thought of her. The building's silence was cut by a piercing scream. My scream, but I didn't recognize it. It then occurred to me that I wasn't the only person screaming.

_Ellie!_

_**8 Months Ago**_

_Ellie and I sat with Joel's body through the night. Tommy and Maria tried to get us to go so they could move the body. But we refused to move. _

_Ellie held Joel's hand as she cried into my chest. I cried too, silently, my tears sliding down my face and into Ellie's shimmering hair._

_"Ellie..."_

_Ellie looked up at me, in the moonlight, her tears appeared like rivers of silvered glass, her emerald eyes were dark and lifeless, betraying the glow from her shimmering auburn hair. She looked more beautiful now then ever before. _

_"Ellie."_

_Ellie threw her body into mine, sobbing. _

_"Promise me." Ellie said. "Promise me you'll never leave."_

_"I promise."_

_"I've lost so many people." Ellie sobbed into my chest. _

_"Shh. I know. I have too." I told her, holding her tight against me and slowly rocking back and forth._

_"Joel, my parents, my friends, my sis-, my sister." I said, getting choked up remembering all their deaths._

_All my fault._

_Hours passed before Ellie stopped crying. She lay her head in my lap, staring up at the glittering expanse of stars above us._

_"It's so beautiful..."_

_Then it was my turn to cry._

**Present**

"Ellie!" I screamed.

My headache subsided and I stood slowly, steadying myself on the wall. I walked towards her strained voice until I was comfortable running again and ran.

I heard her scream once again, from a door in front of me. Drawing Joel's revolver and my handgun from my holster and waistband, I kicked the door open.

The world seemed to slow down as I fired shots into the backs of hunters, spraying their blood on the ground as their friends dove away. I executed those who cowered behind objects, kicking them in the face before blowing a hole through their heads.

Then, it was silent.

_Ellie!_

I looked to the center of the room to see Ellie, unconscious on the floor. Her naked body was badly bruised and bloodied and I rushed over to pick her up.

"It's nice to see you again." I heard a familiar voice say.

I stood from my crouched position next to Ellie and glared at Rylan.

"I hope you don't mind that we 'borrowed' your girlfriend." Rylan said with a smirk.

I lifted my gun, aimed it at his head and squeezed the trigger. It clicked harmlessly and Rylan laughed as I dropped it on the ground.

"Y'know, I am sorry I had to do this to you Cameron, but I gotta listen to what my boss tells me. I really do think of you as my friend." Rylan explained, drawing his machete from the sheath on his back.

"I will enjoy this though."

Rylan lunged at me, swinging the blade down at me. I dove to the side, avoiding the blow.

"It's cute you came to save her." Rylan said, turning back towards me.

"Now you can die together."

Again, he swung at me. I dodged the blade, rolling around Rylan. I hopped up swiftly and kicked him backwards, sending him reeling backwards and onto the ground. A certain kind of hatred burned through his eyes as he stood up.

"That's how you want to do it, huh?" Rylan said, sheathing his machete as he stepped towards me.

Readying myself, he lunged at me with a flurry of lightning quick kicks and punches. Rylan caught the inside of my thigh, then hit me in the face, sending me backwards. I turned the fall into a roll and sprang back up to my feet.

"You don't know the shit I've been through." I told Rylan as he slowly approached me.

"Maybe not, but I know enough." He replied with an evil smirk.

He swung heavily at me and I grabbed his arm. I pulled him towards me, kneeing him in the stomach and threw him to the ground. I grabbed him off the ground, put him in a choke hold and squeezed as hard as I could.

"Time to finish what I started in Boise." I told him.

Rylan struggled, trying to break free of my grip. He stomped on my foot, kicked me in the knee then threw me over his shoulder. I stood up slowly to see Rylan lunging at me, machete drawn. Rylan stepped and slashed at me horizontally, catching my chest. Searing pain ripped through me as the blade cut me from left shoulder to my hip. I cried out in pain and dropped to my knees. Rylan smirked before kicking me in the face, sending me flying backwards onto the ground.

"Time to finish what _I_ started." Rylan said as he circled my body.

Rylan pressed the blunt tip of the machete against my right soldier, piercing my skin and ripping open the wide scar that existed there. I screamed in pain as he pressed the blade into my shoulder, like the glass that had embedded itself there so long ago.

"You know, we aren't that different." Rylan told me as he paced around my body, watching me bleed.

He stopped by my right arm and dropped onto one knee. He grabbed my arm lifted it up onto his knee.

"We both like to inflict... Pain!"

He stabbed the blade through the bite mark on my right arm before slicing off the entire scar, severing tendons and muscles as the chunk of bloody flesh fell to the floor.

My head pounded with pain, my vision was blurry and I had trouble focusing on anything as Rylan continued to pace around me.

"Now if I recall. There's one more right about... Here." Rylan said, stomping on my left hand.

I watched through blurry eyes as Rylan slowly sliced my left Palm open. I watched my blood seep from the freshly opened wound and out onto the ground.

_Blood. _

I brought my hand up to my mouth, my blood dripping onto my face and lips. I tasted my blood, it seemed, _sweet_. A strange jolt shot through my body and I slowly stood back up to face Rylan who had turned his back to me.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" Rylan asked, turning towards me.

He brought his blade down over his head. I reached up and grabbed his wrist as he was about to make contact.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance." I growled through gritted teeth.

Rylan looked at me horrified before I broke his wrist with a single movement. He dropped his machete on the ground as he grasped his broken wrist.

"I... Wha... What are you?"

"Crazy."

Rylan stared at me helplessly as I licked my bloodied lips. I tackled him to the ground and ripped apart his body, his screams echoed in my ears before they faded into nothingness. His body was almost unrecognizable by the time I was finished. Blood was everywhere as I stood from his mangled body.

**Almost done! Don't forget to follow, favorite and review!**


	12. Chapter 12

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.12 - Forsaken and Alone

**"Endure and survive."  
\- Ellie, ****_The Last of Us_**

~~~Me~~~

I stood from Rylan's lifeless body and approached Ellie's naked form. I pulled out a blanket from my bag and wrapped her in it before struggling to lift her up. I was tired and shaky as I used my body to push open a door and stepped out into the snow. I carried Ellie away from the hunters base, bleeding profusely from what seemed like everywhere. My blood stained the white snow beneath me a deep, crimson red, as well as a few drops standing out on Ellie's pale skin, tainting her flesh. I stumbled blindly through the snow, not sure where I was, or where I was going. I progressively got tireder and tireder, my body ached and I wanted to collapse.

_I'm going to die._ I thought, tripping on something beneath the snow, dropping Ellie and landing face first in the snow. I laid in the snow, knowing that if I succumbed to my exhaustion that I would never wake up.

I heard voices, voices of people who were no longer with me. My mom told me to rest, my dad talked me through the painlessness of death, and Joel explained the comforts of the next life.

"I can't leave her." I whispered to myself. They told me otherwise, convincing me that Ellie could take care of herself.

"No, I'll just... I'll just take a quick... A quick nap..." I mumbled, my vision fading, a last shot of fear and guilt ripping through my body before I relaxed, serenity and comfort eased me into the dark abyss as my mind faded.

~~~Ellie~~~

Ellie woke up shivering. Her head and body hurt.

_Agh, why am I naked_? Ellie thought. Her own question was quickly answered by a sick, burning sensation in her stomach and lower abdomen. She shuddered, remembering what had happened.

Ellie was confused now however. She was outside, laying wrapped up in a blanket in a deep snow bank, the smell of blood thick in her nostrils. Ellie turned to her left and saw the snow was stained crimson all the way to the ground, and a body in a heap.

"Cameron?" She asked, her voice nervous and shaky.

"Cameron?" She asked again, rolling the body onto its side to reveal Cameron's pale face. Worry and despair spread through her chest.

"No no no no." Ellie said starting to cry.

Cameron had a deep wound in his right shoulder, a section of his arm had been cut out, his left hand was torn open and his chest slashed from shoulder to waist.

Ellie stood sobbing, looking around through the falling snow.

"Help!" She cried out hopelessly. "Someone help!"

Ellie could hear some shouting and gunfire in the distance as people approached her. Ellie recognized they weren't hunters, they were soldiers, but not any kind she had seen before. Instead of the American flag stitched into their shoulders, they had a bright red maple leaf, a symbol she had never seen before. She ran towards the men, not caring that she was naked.

"You have to help him!" Ellie told them. "He's going to die." She sobbed.

"Oh my god. It can't be." She heard a soldier say.

"Ellie?" The soldier asked, pulling off his gas mask. She recognized the man immediately from when she lived in Boston. Her friend Winston.

"Get the boy, I'll take her to safety." Winston told the other two soldiers.

Ellie stood dumbfounded, she had been told Winston had died.

"I'll explain everything later, it's not safe here. You should put that blanket back on too." Winston told her, averting his gaze.

Ellie flushed red as she realized that she stood before Winston completely naked. She grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around herself and followed Winston through the woods.

Ellie sat in a warm building in southwestern Canada, near Vancouver B.C. It surprised her how relaxed everyone here seemed to be.

"Alright." Winston said sitting across from Ellie. "Your friend has been airlifted to Vancouver, we can only hope for the best, he's lost a lot of blood."

"Wait. Airlifted?" Ellie asked, surprised by the fact that Winston expected her to think it was a regular occurrence.

"Right. I guess I should explain everything." Winston said sitting up in the chair. "First, welcome to Canada."

"Canada?"

"Canada sorta avoided most of the apocalypse." Winston told her.

Ellie stared bewilderedly at Winston. She didn't believe any of the words that came out of his mouth as he explained how the country avoided the Cordyceps fungus and managed to keep it out for 22 years.

"I just don't understand."

"Well they were..."

"How are you not dead?" Ellie asked.

Winston shifted in his seat before answering her.

"I uh, faked my death."

Ellie could feel her emotions overwhelming her and she began to cry.

"Why would you leave us?" Ellie cried.

"I'm sorry Ellie I..."

"Sorry isn't enough, Riley is dead now!"

"Ellie, let me finish." Winston said calmly.

Ellie took a deep breath and calmed down some.

"I know I fucked up Ellie, I never should've left you and Riley. I'm sorry she's gone Ellie, but I'd've been dead soon if I hadn't left, and I was born in Canada, I knew they'd let me in. Things were too rough for the military in Boston."

"You're so god damned selfish!" Ellie yelled at him.

"I know Ellie, but I'm here now, and you're going to be safe from now on." Winston told her, moving nearer to her and embracing her.

"What about Cameron? Can I see him?" Ellie asked.

"Soon I promise."

"Winston, I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Right after you uh, "died", I got, um got bit when I was with Riley." Ellie explained.

Winston stared blankly at her.

"Show me." He ordered.

Ellie stuck out her arm to show off her scarred bite mark.

"That's impossible." Winston said, slowly backing away from her.

"It's true. Why would I lie to you?" Ellie asked him.

"This... This changes, everything." Winston said.

"Whaddya mean?" Ellie asked him.

"You're... You're immune. We can fix, everyone, everything." Winston said sounding exasperated.

"Cameron's immune too."

"It's going to happen Ellie, we're going to save the world." Winston said sitting back down.

"I want to see Cameron first."

"Right, of course. Let's go." He said excitedly, ushering her out the door.

Ellie stood besides Cameron's hospital bed, holding his hand. Tears dripped down her cheeks and splashed onto the white sheets below her. She had been listening to the steady beeping of his heart monitor for several hours now, just watching him slowly breathe in and out.

"Ma'am? I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over." A nurse said as she stepped into the room.

"She's with me." Winston told the nurse, standing up to face her.

"Right, my apologies sir." The nurse said before backing out of the room.

"I'm sure he'll recover." Winston tried to reassure Ellie.

"He better."

"Just let me now when you're ready to go. We can stay as long as you want." Winston said.

Ellie laid down on the bed, facing Cameron. Her hand tracing down his unconscious face.

"Please don't leave me." Ellie cried.

~~~Me~~~

I opened my eyes to a canvas of bright white light. I sat up, shielding my eyes, but there was only a never ending glow in front of me.

"I see you finally made it." I heard a familiar voice say.

I looked behind me and saw Joel, standing beside my parents. They were all wearing the same clothes I had last seen them in. Joel in his ripped flannel and faded jeans. My Mom in a tank top and cargo pants, and my Dad with his worn blue button up and ripped denim pants.

"Am I... Dead?" I asked them.

"Not quite." My Dad told me.

"I miss you guys."

"I know you do sweetheart, but you can't change the past. We are, and always will be dead." My Mom said.

"All your deaths were my fault though."

My parents and Joel just shrugged.

"I like to think that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." My Dad admitted.

"I don't blame you for what happened to me." A new voice said from behind me.

Hearing her voice almost caused me to fall to my knees, an intense feeling of guilt overwhelming me. I turned to face my sister, Juliette.

"Hey big brother!" She said cheerily.

I could feel warm tears slide down my face as she hugged me tightly.

"Jules, I'm sorry." I apologized.

"Don't be."

"But I killed you." I said in a low voice.

"It wasn't you Cam. It was that thing inside of you."

"Jules, I watched you die. I could've stopped it, I could've..."

"Stop." She told me simply. "You already lost that fight. You can still win this one."

Ellie appeared before me, laying on a hospital bed with my unconscious form on it next to her, and she was crying.

I reached out to touch her, but my hand passed straight through her body.

"I fought like hell for you two." I heard Joel say. "Ellie needs you Cameron, because you're the last person she cares about, she wouldn't make it without you."

"Joel has a point." My Dad added.

"Everything happens for a reason Cameron, I didn't understand this when I lost Sarah, but I do now. If Sarah had never died, I never would have met you two." Joel explained.

"Just like what happened with Jules."

"Yep, now go, get back to fighting for your girl and for saving the whole goddamned world." Jules said as I collapsed.


	13. Chapter 13 - Updated

From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.13 - Yours Again

A/N I realized (yes, a year later, calm down.) that I left out a part of this chapter on accident. For future projects, I'm working on improving the first few chapters of _The Two of Us,_ and I'm still working on my SAO series as well as two prequels for this series, one with Cameron, and one featuring Cameron's Dad, Mother, and even a little bit of Joel and Tommy action.

"I want to always be with you, I'll give you everything I have."

~~~~Spring~~~~

~~~Ellie~~~

It had been two months since Ellie had been taken to Canada. Two months without her being able to talk to Cameron, every day getting closer to the inevitable.

"Have you made a decision yet?" Winston asked her as they walked into the hospital.

"I've already told you, we are giving him a chance." Ellie shot back.

"Ellie."

Ellie continued walking as Winston slowed beside her.

"Ellie." Winston said more forcefully.

Ellie stopped dead in her tracks as the older man began to speak.

"All we need to finish the cure is a brain tissue sample. You have to think about the bigger picture. What would he do if you were the one in a coma." Winston asked her.

"I know what he'd do." Ellie responded quietly. "This did happen Winston, the fireflies tried to kill me to get their cure, but Cameron and Joel stopped them." Ellie told Winston, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ellie I'm..."

"How could you expect me to just let him die when he would risk death to make sure I'm safe? Are you all really that selfish? Can you not see that he is the only person that I love?" Ellie shouted at Winston.

Winston's gaze dropped to his feet as Ellie began sobbing. She hated to think that Cameron may not wake up. She hated the fact that these people thought it would be a 'noble sacrifice' for her to let go of the only person she cared about in this shattered, ruined world. Ellie remembered a time when she wished the world was normal again, but now, Cameron was her normal.

Ellie stomped away from Winston towards Cameron's hospital room, leaving the old man in shock from her reaction.

"Ah. Good morning, Ellie." Dr. Mathieson greeted her as she walked into Cameron's hospital room, he was writing things down on a clipboard.

"Are you alright Ellie?" He asked without looking up from his board.

"Yeah."

"You know you can tell me what's wrong. I'm here to help, and if you want me to listen, I'd be glad to do it." The doctor said with a smile.

"It's okay. I don't want to talk about it." Ellie responded.

"Then I won't pressure you anymore."

Ellie moved to the hospital bed, sitting in the chair next to Cameron's unconscious form.

"There hasn't been any changes." The doctor told her. "Just in case you were wondering."

Ellie buried her face into Cameron's arm. She could feel more warm tears dripping from her face onto Cameron's arm.

"Hold on." Dr. Mathieson said suddenly. "This is new."

Ellie picked her head up off the hospital to look at the doctor. He was standing next to Cameron's monitor, staring intensely at the readings on the screen.

"Ellie move." The doctor ordered.

Ellie moved away from Cameron, not sure whether to be worried or not. Cameron's heart monitor started beeping loudly as well as other instruments making weird noises.

"Doctor?" Ellie asked.

"Ellie go get Nurse Lillian."

"What's going on?" Ellie asked.

"It's almost impossible, but he's waking up."

~~~Cameron~~~

"...waking up." I heard someone say.

My body hurt everywhere and I was incredibly thirsty. I wasn't sure where I was or what was going on, but I could feel other people around me.

"Cameron, I know you don't know me, but can you hear me?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

I managed to crack a small smile to acknowledge the voice, unable to speak.

I managed to open my eyes, blinded temporarily by the blinding white light of the room. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed that I was lying in a hospital bed, a doctor by my side.

"Here, drink." The doctor told me, handing me a cup of water.

I drank the cool water, it tasted better than anything I had ever drank before and got rid of the sickly feeling in my throat and mouth.

The doctor asked me numerous, seemingly random questions that he made note of on his clipboard.

"Do you feel..."

"Is Ellie here?" I cut him off.

The doctor looked intently at me before speaking.

"Let's finish with..."

"Is she here." I demanded.

"Unlock the door." The doctor said to his nurse.

The nurse unlocked and opened the door to the rest of the building. Ellie burst into the room, tears streaming from her emerald eyes. She jumped onto the bed; wrapping her arms around my neck and planting a firm, passionate kiss on my lips before burying her head in my chest; sobbing hysterically.

I just held Ellie as tight as I could, every bit of tension and pain leaving my body.

"It's okay." I told her. "I'm never letting you go."

"Cameron, I have to show you something." The doctor said as Ellie finally pulled herself away from me.

The doctor took a step towards me and grabbed my right arm.

"Close your fingers." He ordered.

I tried to close my hand into a fist, but I was unable to move my fingers. I tried again and again to no avail.

"I'm afraid that most of the tendons in your forearm had been severed and completely cut out from your body. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we could've done, too much had been lost." The doctor explained.

I stared down at my limp right hand, unable to move my hand at all and then looked up at the doctor.

"At least it wasn't my shooting arm." I managed to say, trying to lighten myself up.

"Now you've been out for a while, Cameron, it's time to start your rehabilitation."

4 Weeks Later

"Well, everything seems to be in order: you're healthy; and we should have our breakthrough very soon." Doctor Mathieson told me.

"I can leave?" I asked, in a bit of disbelief.

"You're clothes and bag are in that cupboard right there. If you ever need anything - don't hesitate to ask me."

I stood as Doctor Mathieson left the room, swaying slightly as I still wasn't adjusted to standing or walking. I quickly changed into my faded jeans and long sleeved shirt, which had been washed since the last time I wore them. I pulled my bag from the cupboard and felt around up on the shelf and found my hunting knife. I strapped the sheath onto my belt loop and swung my bag over my shoulder before leaving the room.

"Doctor!" I called out.

Doctor Mathieson was having a conversation with his nurse in the lobby area.

He turned before asking:

"What can I do for you?"

"Where's the, uh... Rest of my things?" I asked.

"Stop by security on your way out. Winston should be there with your things; he'll take you back to his place where Ellie is staying." He replied.

"Thank you, for everything." I told him.

He flashed me a quick smile and a nod as I headed towards the exit. I walked towards the exit and spotted the security room by the door. Winston, who I met during my recovery, was waiting for me.

"Good to see you Cameron. You ready to leave?" The older man asked me.

"Definitely."

"We should probably wait until we get outside before I give you the rest of your... things." Winston suggested, opening the door for me.

I stepped outside for the first time in months, shielding my eyes from the sun as I did. It was a cool, crisp morning; with dew clinging to the grass that bordered the walkway to the parking lot. I could see my breath as I walked beside Winston.

It was so strange to me: seeing people live their lives as though nothing was happening in the world around them.

"Here we are." Winston announced, unlocking his truck and hopping into the drivers seat.

I opened the passenger side door and hoisted myself up into the vehicle.

"Your things are right here." Winston said, jostling a vertical wrap of brown fabric.

I grabbed the bundle and laid it across my lap. I unrolled it and stared down at my guns. A shotgun, a nine millimeter handgun, and Joel's revolver lay before me. I gently brushed my fingers against the cool metal of my guns before grabbing Joel's gun and placing it in the holster on my leg. I made sure to buckle the top so that I didn't have the weapon showing, and wrapped up the other two again.

Winston and I drove in silence, I watched the city pass us by as we drove on. I was amazed by nearly everything I saw, and found it strange that people lived the way they did here.

Winston pulled into a parking garage and shut off his truck.

"Alright. My apartment is just across the street." Winston told me.

I grabbed the bundle of weapons and hopped down out of the vehicle. I walked alongside Winston as we crossed the street and entered the apartment building.

"Stairs or...?"

"Elevator." I said sternly.

"Of course. I hate stairs too." Winston remarked.

We rode the elevator up to the fourth floor and went towards his apartment.

He put the key in the lock, and hesitated a moment before unlocking the door and pushing it open.

"Ellie?" Winston called out.

I heard footsteps and saw Ellie appear in the hallway. I dropped my bundle on the ground as she ran to me and jumped on me. I caught her and spun her around.

Her laughter quickly faded to crying as I held her tight against my body.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm not leaving." I told her.

"I know." Ellie told me without raising her head. "I'm just so happy to see you."

I smiled and set her down. I reached towards her and wiped her tears from freckled cheeks.

"Winston. We're gonna go for a walk, we'll be back soon." I told the older man as I grabbed Ellie's hand and left him yelling out his front door.

Ellie clung to left arm, not wanting to let go. I gave her a quick kiss as we left the building to walk around the city.

"It's strange, isn't it?" I asked Ellie as we walked.

"What?"

"All... This." I told her, gesturing to the people and city before me.

"It's only weird to us because we haven't ever felt... Safe." Ellie replied.

"Doctor Mathieson told me about the cure development." I told Ellie. "He said he thinks our immunity is caused by a genetic difference in the form of a prion, a wacky protein or something like that."

"What does that mean though?"

"Apparently, prions normally destroy your brain cells, but instead of attaching our brains, it attacks the cordyceps, converting it to waste." I explained.

We continued walking through the streets, I continually fumbled with my pant pocket, contemplating what I was about to do.

"Ellie." I said suddenly, grabbing her other hand and making us stop in the middle of the sidewalk. "I can tell you like it here, everything is- normal, I guess."

"Cameron?"

"I need to ask you something Ellie, because if I don't, nothing will be normal for me." I told her as I fumbled around in my pocket.

I pulled out the small felt covered box Maria had given me and slowly fell to one knee.

"Ellie, I never want a day to go by that I don't get to be with you." I said.

Ellie had started to cry, and she was covering her mouth with her hands.

"Ellie... Will you marry me?"

I opened the felt box and looked up into her eyes.

"Yes!"

THE END


End file.
